Yeah, pathfinding is an issue, particularly on small scale movement. For moving from one side of the level to the other it works well using a waypoint system, but when moving round and past other units they often get stuck.

I think zoom in and out are bound to the A and Z keys, if I remember correctly. If it's marked wrong in the manual I apologise.

You'll be interested to know that we're currently throwing ideas around for DiD 3, which we'll start work on just as soon as I get a new PC. At that point I'll also go back and fix some of the more obvious problems with DiD2 too.

Far Cry does have better physics than HL2. Firstly, there are none of the glaring physics bugs found in HL2. Secondly the implementation is tidier, and far less CPU intensive. Thirdly, the ragdoll implementation is better and more realistic. Fourthly, the physics enhace the game rather than are the game. Fifthly, unlike HL2 the Far Cry physics engine incorporates chaos theory.

HL2's physics is not all that special. Pretty much every single game for the last 2 years has had physics just as good. HL2 just makes a point of showing it off to the extent that it's no longer fun.

Have you had a go at the tutorials that come with it? I found them pretty helpful.

The basic technique I use is to create a basic box or cylinder etc, then extrude sufaces. I then move the vertices of the extrusion around to where I want, then extrude again.

It's very useful to put a plane in the 'front' window, and to put a material on it with the concept art you are making, that way you can get the proportions etc exactly right as you build the model in front of it.

Here's a pretty decent tutorial on making a weapon model, it'll teach you all the basic techniques you need to know, assuming you know your way around the interface already.